ABSTRACT
The crucial role of biodiversity in the links between ecosystems and societies has been repeatedly highlighted both as source of wellbeing and as a target of human actions, but not all aspects of biodiversity are equally important to different ecosystem services. Similarly, different social actors have different perceptions of and access to ecosystem services, and therefore, they have different wants and capacities to select directly or indirectly for particular biodiversity and ecosystem characteristics. Their choices feed back onto the ecosystem services provided to all parties involved and in turn, affect future decisions. Despite this recognition, the research communities addressing biodiversity, ecosystem services, and human outcomes have yet to develop frameworks that adequately treat the multiple dimensions and interactions in the relationship. Here, we present an interdisciplinary framework for the analysis of relationships between functional diversity, ecosystem services, and human actions that is applicable to specific social environmental systems at local scales. We connect the mechanistic understanding of the ecological role of diversity with its social relevance: ecosystem services. The framework permits connections between functional diversity components and priorities of social actors using land use decisions and ecosystem services as the main links between these ecological and social components. We propose a matrix-based method that provides a transparent and flexible platform for quantifying and integrating social and ecological information and negotiating potentially conflicting land uses among multiple social actors. We illustrate the applicability of our framework by way of land use examples from temperate to subtropical South America, an area of rapid social and ecological change.
Subject(s)
Biodiversity , Conservation of Natural Resources/methods , Ecosystem , Models, Theoretical , Consumer Advocacy , Humans , Interdisciplinary Communication , Public Policy , Socioeconomic Factors , South AmericaABSTRACT
En la actualidad las discusiones vinculadas con la problemática de la sustentabilidad ocupan casi todos los espacios sociales. No obstante, no abundan las investigaciones que operativizan el concepto y en la mayoría de los casos los aportes se mantienen en el campo teórico. Desde el punto de vista conceptual este trabajo discute la conveniencia de adoptar enfoques que midan la sustentabilidad desde dos perspectivas: "estados" versus "procesos". Partiendo de un marco teórico específico, se elaboraron tres indicadores ambientales y tres socioeconómicos, los cuales se integraron en el índice de sustentabilidad predial (ISP). Estos indicadores fueron utilizados de una manera sistemática durante cinco años consecutivos, a fin de valorar la sustentabilidad de catorce sistemas productivos campesinos de Argentina Central. Los resultados permitieron observar que en el 57% de los sistemas se ha registrado un deterioro del ISP. Los resultados fueron analizados a la luz de las dos perspectivas mencionadas más arriba. Se sugiere que el enfoque de "procesos" podría presentar algunas ventajas por sobre el de "estados" para medir la sustentabilidad de las explotaciones agropecuarias.
Currently, the debate on sustainability issues permeates almost every corner of the social field. However, researches aiming at making the concept more operational are not widespread, and most of the times their contributions stay within theoretical grounds. From a conceptual point of view, this paper discusses the convenience of approaching the concept of sustainability from two perspectives: "states" versus "processes". Drawing upon an ad-hoc framework, three environmental and three socioeconomic indicators were created which were integrated in a farm sustainability index (FSI). The indicators were evaluated systematically during five consecutive years, aiming at assessing the sustainability of 14 peasant farms, located in central Argentina. Results show that in 57% of the farms there is a reduction on the FSI. These findings are analyzed in the light of the two perspectives mentioned above. It is argued that the "processes" approach may be more appropriate than the "states" approach to measure the sustainability of farming systems.
Na atualidade as discussões vinculadas com a problemática da sustentabilidade ocupam quase todos os espaços sociais. No entanto, não abundam as investigações que tornam operativo o conceito e na maioria dos casos os aportes são mantidos no campo teórico. Desde o ponto de vista conceitual este trabalho discute a conveniência de adotar pontos de vista que meçam a sustentabilidade a partir de duas perspectivas: "estados" versus "processos". Partindo de um marco teórico específico, se elaboraram três indicadores ambientais e três socioeconômicos, os quais se integraram no índice de sustentabilidade predial (ISP). Estes indicadores foram utilizados de uma maneira sistemática durante cinco anos consecutivos, com o fim de valorizar a sustentabilidade de catorze sistemas produtivos camponeses da Argentina Central. Os resultados permitiram observar que em 57% dos sistemas tem se registrado um deterioro do ISP. Os resultados foram analisados sob as duas perspectivas mencionadas acima. Sugere-se que na ótica de "processos" poderiam se apresentar algumas vantagens sobre a de "estados" para medir a sustentabilidade das explorações agropecuárias.
